Employee arrested in death of assisted living facility resident death | News

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Lakeland, Florida – An employee of an assisted living center has been charged with neglect after not calling 911 when a resident began complaining of pain.

An investigation by the Florida Attorney General's Office investigation led to the arrest on Tuesday of Rachel Mobley, an employee of Grace Manor at Lake Morton in Lakeland.

Mobley, 22, has been charged with neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult from an incident from April 2013.

At that time, Charles Burrows complained to employees that he had a "sharp stabbing pain in his eye" and needed help. Instead of contacting emergency services right away, an employee called Mobley, who was a resident care coordinator.

The employees told the investigator that after repeated requests, Mobley "declined to approve transport to the hospital." As couple of hours later, one of the two employees on duty that decided to call 911 anyway.

When paramedics arrived, they determined that Burrows was suffering the effects of a stroke, but since time had lapsed, the damage was irreversible.

"We at Grace Manor are stunned at the arrest of Ms. Mobley and the way this matter has been handled. From the beginning, we have cooperated fully with investigators over the past year and were led to believe that the matter was coming to resolution," said Sara Brady, a spokesperson for Grace Manor.

In addition to allegations that Mobley told employees not to call 911, charges which she denies, Mobley told them not to give him his prescribed medication, which she "did not have the authority to violate orders of the doctor."

Mobley has since bonded out of jail. A reporter went to her Winter Haven home in an attempt to talk to her about the charges, but was told to talk to her attorney.

Since Burrows' death in April 2013, Mobley has been promoted to executive director at Grace Manor, but the Attorney General's Office investigation found that she is not certified by the state to hold such a position.